Pneumatic dispatch system



. E, c, s JENNINGS m w PNEUMATIC DISPATCH SYSTEM Filed Oct. 51, 1955 4Shets-Sheet 1 ke Z6 niJ-Jiwzz'v a ak mkni+ MA c. 5. JENNINGS @MfifiPNEUMATIC DISPATCi-I SYSTEM Filed Oct. 31, 1935 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 p 11935- c. s. JENNINGS EJ934957} PNEUMATIC DISPATCH SYSTEM Filed 051. 31,12933 4 s eets-sheet s v WWW W 1935- c. 5. JENNINGS PNEUMATIC DISPATCHSYSTEM z'mwn 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 31,

.[7zderz2or 6726.526? .52 Jau & M -l Patented Sept. 17, 1935 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE 2,014,571 PNEUMATIC DISPATCH SYSTEM ApplicationOctober 31, 1933, Serial No. 696,015

10 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in pneumatic dispatch systems,and more particularly to the carriers employed therein.

The primary objects of this invention are to 5 provide a carrier with acarrying compartment of great capacity and a larger opening throughwhich access may be had to the compartment, such carrier includingreadily detachable and replaceable head units and being moreover simplein construction and less expensive to manufacture than the variouscarriers heretofore known.

A carrier embodying this invention differs from the previous types ofcarriers in various respects as, for example, in the construction of thecarrier heads, the construction of the inner and outer shells, themethod of joining the heads to the shells, and the provision ofaccelerator rings or skirts removably secured to the carrier heads-Qther objects of this invention and features of the illustrativeembodiments thereof will appea from a on id i n of th followin de- 's rpti n and o th d awin s w h r a p t thereof, and in which 7 Fig. 1 is afront view of a side opening .carrier partially open, which embodiesthis invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof on an enlarged scale takenalong the line 2-.-.-2 of Fig. 1 with the carrier open;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the inner shell of such carrier;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section thereof taken along the line 4-4 ofFig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view thereof on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view thereof, on an enlarged scale, takenalong the line 6-6 of Fig. 3; V

Fig. 7 is a side view of the outer shell of such carrier;

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view thereof, on an enlarged scale; 7 V V Fig. 9is a front view of the outer shell;

Fig. 10 is a crossssectional View, von'an enlarged scale, taken'alongthe line Ill-+0 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 1-1 is a sectional view of one ofithe cups which form apart of thehead unit;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11 of another form of our; used incarriers of the solid head .Wp v

Fig. 13 is a front elevation of an end opening carrier which embodiesthis invention; 7

Fig. 14 is an enlarged cross section of such ,gcarrier taken along theline I i-44 ofFig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line I5l5 ofFig. 13;

Fig. 16 is a view similar to Fig. 15 showing a carrier of that type butdiffering in form;

Fig. 17 is a bottom plan view of either form of end opening carrier; and

Fig. 18 is a sectional view of a ring which constitutes one element ofthe head unit applied to the open end of such a carrier.

The side opening carrier comprises a body 10 portion, formed by an innershell 20 and an outer shell 2|, and head units 22, such units being twoin number and secured to the ends of the body portion, more specificallyto the inner and outer shells respectively. The shells are, in accord-15 ance with the usual practice, tubular and of such dimensions that theouter shell may be slipped over one end of the inner shell and rotatedthereon,

The inner shell 20 has an oval opening in 2 one side, is enlarged at oneend to form a ring 26, and'has a central opening 21 at the other end,such end being hereafter, for convenience in description, referred to asthe lower end or base of the carrier. A recess 2-8 is formed in the edgeof 2 the base and a series of integral tongues 29 equall spaced arepressed out from the ring 26. The outer shell 2| has an oval opening 30in its side bounded by an integral bead 3!, a ring 32 at one end and, atthe other end, hereafter des- 30 ignated as the lower end or base, aring 33 provided with a plurality of equally spaced tongues 34 pressedoutwardly from the surface thereof. The ring 26 of the inner shell andthe ring 33 of the outer shell are of the same dimensions and 3. areprovided with the same number of outwardly projecting tongues.

In the base at the edge of the ring 33 is made a depression forming astop 35 which extends into the interior of the shell. A central openingdefined by an annular flange 36 is formed in the base of the shell, theother end being open. Annular bosses 31 and 38, which strengthen thewalls of the shell, separate the rings 32 and 33 from the body of theshell. In the wall of the shell is formed a pocket 39 in which a card orticket bearing a number or other indicia may be placed to designate thecontents, destination or other information regarding the carrier.

The shells are connected by telescoping the 9 inner shell 20 into theouter shell 2 l, the ring 32 of the outer shell butting against the ring26 of the inner shell, the flange 36 of the outer shell entering thecentral opening 2-! of the inner shell, and the recess 23 r the innershell receiving the flange 55 and recesses 55.

the stop 35 of the outer shell. The flange 36 is spun over to preventthe separation of the shells and yet not to interfere with the relativerotation of the shells which is limited by the engagement of the stop 35with the end walls of the recess 28. Such rotation permits the openingand closing of the carrier in the well known manner. A tongue 40, formedon one edge of the opening 25 in the inner shell, coacts with the bead3| surrounding the opening 30 in the outer shell and thus locks theshells in either the fully open or the fully closed position.

Each head unit 22 comprises a cup 50, a buffer fixedly secured to saidcup and here shown as consisting of a central hard rubber portion isurrounded by a fiber or felt ring 52, and a skirt 53. The buffer actsin the manner well known in this art, to contact with the'walls of thetransit tubes and hence is provided with a periphery of felt or fiber.It will of course be understood that the buffer may be made entirely offelt or fiber in accordance with the practice common to this art. Theportion 5| has a depression 54 which receives the base and a portion ofthe wall of the cup 50, and is secured both to the cup 55 and the feltring 52 in any suitable manner. This securernent is here shown as theresult of vulcanization in accordance with the disclosure made in thecopending' application of John T. Needham, Serial No. 631,184, filedAugust 31, 1932. The wall of each cup terminates in an outwardlyextending flange 55 and is provided with a plurality of equally spacedapertures or recesses 55. The skirt 53 comprises a base 57 of suchdimension that'it surrounds the wall of the cup between the portion 5Iand the flange 55 and an annular flange 58 which projects outwardly fromthe base 51. The flange is inter- 403 mediate the ends of the base andgrooves 55 are formed in the base at opposite sides of the flange sothat the latter will function equally Well no matter which end ofthecarrier may lead in its travel through a tube. When the carrier headis fiat instead of paving a central depression therein, as shown in Fig.2, a cup I50 of the type shown in Fig. 12 is employed. This cup has anoutwardly extending flange I5I and recesses I52 which correspond instructure and function to the cup has an outwardly extending boss I 54which is surrounded by the hard rubber portion of the head. The purposeof the boss I54 is to reduce the amount of hard rubber employed to formthe central portion of the head and thereby to prevent any increase inthe weights of carriers having flat heads over those having a centraldepression therein.

The head units are added to the shells after the latter have beentelescopically assembled by pressing the cups onto the rings 26 and 33of the inner and outer shells. It will be understood that the number andarrangement of the apertures or recesses 56 of the cups correspond tothat of the tongues 29 and 34 of the shells, so that the tongues enterthe apertures 55 of the cups and thus join the cups to the shells. Theflanges 55 contact with the bosses 3! and 38 of the outer shell, and thewall of the cup secured to the ring 26 projects beyond it to define withthe main body of the inner shell a pocket in which the ring 32 may turnfreely.

The construction thus described results in a carrier, the interior ofwhich is that of the inner shell except for the flange 35 of the outershell Th base I53 of and the upset portion forming the recess 28. Thehead units are secured to the outer walls of the shells and do notreduce the capacity of the carrier compartment. While the head units arefixed in position they can be easily removed or 5 replaced when desired.For example, in the form shown in Fig. 2 the removal of the skirts 53permits cutting away portions of the cup walls by a suitable tool or apair of pliers to release the tongues 29 or 34. The access opening tothe interior of the carrier is substantially as long as the distancebetween the head units. Hence a document as long as the interior of thecarrier can be inserted with little difficulty.

Figs. 13 to 18 inclusive illustrate an end opening carrier embodyingcertain features of this invention. Such carrier comprises a bodyportion formed by a tubular shell 69, one end of which is closed by ahead unit GI, and the other end of which is surrounded by a head unit62. The shell 5!] has an opening 53 and a pocket 64 in the wall thereofand annular reinforcing bosses B5, 65 adjacent each end. The opening 63permits an inspection of the contents of the carrier without removal,and the pocket 64, like the pocket 39 of the first described embodiment,is adapted to carry a card or ticket. The shell terminates in rings 5'!and 68 to which the head units are secured by means of outwardlyprojecting tongues 69.

The head unit El of the carrier shown in Fig. 15 is flat and comprises acup I3 similar to the cup I55 of the side opening carrier, a bufferconsisting of a central hard rubber'portion II, a

ring of felt or fiber i2 surrounding the portion II,

in. The skirt i3 comprises a base I6 and an annular flange l"!projecting outwardly from the base intermediate the ends thereof, thebase having annular grooves I8 therein at opposite sides of the flange.The head unit 6P of the carrier r. shown in Fig. 16 has a centraldepression therein and is similar to the head unit 22 of the sideopening carrier previously described. Its construction is identical withthat of the unit 6! with the exception of the cup 10 which is similar tothe cup (Fig. 11) and the same reference characters are used thereonwithout further description. The head unit of either type ofcarrier issnapped onto the ring Bl, the tongue 69 and apertures 15 being suitablylocated so that they will interengage. The head unit 52 comprises a ring85 terminating in an inwardly projecting flange 8i, a buffer consistingof an intermediate rubber portion 82 and a ring 53 surrounding theportion 82, said portion being suitably joined to the rings 8B and 83 asby vulcanizing. The unit 62 is snapped onto the ring 68 and held thereonby the interengagement of the tongues 69 on the ring 68 and apertures 84in the ring 80.

As pointed out above in the description of the previously describedembodiment, the buffers of these head units may be made entirely of feltor fiber in accordance with the practice commonly followed in this art.The annular bosses 65 and 66 are preferably so located that the ends ofthe head units contact therewith when the carrier parts are assembled.

In order to hold the mess-ages or other contents in position in thecarrier there is provided a strap 85 secured at one end to the wall ofthe shell 60, as by rivets 86. 'The strap is preferably a strip of metaland the free end is bent back to form a loop 81 which, as shown in Figs.14 and 15, projects toward the longitudinal center of the carrier. Thestrap 85, as shown in Fig. 13, holds a portion of the contents adjacentthe opening 63 so that they can be seen or written upon therethrough.

The formation of the head units, as either flat (Bl in Fig. 15) or witha central depression therein (6| in Fig. 16), is a well known practiceand due thereto the carriers upon their arrival at a certain point inthe system are acted upon by separators (not shown) and those having oneform of head are removed from the stream. See the patent to Maclaren No.1,499,318, June 24, 1924. Both ends of the side opening carriers aremade identical so that the separators operate in the same way no matterwhich end is in the lead. End opening carriers, however, have one endopen and since, due to inadvertence or to the action of a precedingseparator, the open end of a carrier might be in the lead as it reachesa separator, the straps vary in length so that the separator willoperate successfully. Accordingly the loop 81 of the straps 85 forcarriers having a flat end terminates at the end of the carrier and theloop 81' of the straps 85 for carriers having a recessed head terminatesan appreciable distance from the end of the carrier. Thus the separatorwill function in the same way with such.

carriers regardless of which end is in the lead.

While two embodiments of this invention have been shown and described, Iam not limited thereto, since other embodiments may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A pneumatic dispatch carrier including a cylindrical body portionproviding a load-carrying compartment and head units removably securedto the ends of the central portion, said units each including a bodyengaging element, a felt ring and a hard rubber portion secured to andconnecting said element and said ring.

2. A pneumatic dispatch carrier including a cylindrical body portionproviding a load-carrying compartment and head units removably securedto the ends of the central portion, said units each including .abody-engaging element having apertures therein and the ends: of the bodyportion including tongues which enter the apertures in said element andsecure it in position.

3. A pneumatic dispatch carrier including a cylindrical body portionproviding a load-carrying compartment and head units removably securedto the ends of the central portion, said units each including an elementwhich surrounds the end of the body portion and has apertures therein 5.A head unit for a pneumatic dispatch carrier comprising a cup, and abuffer fixedly secured to said cup and including a hard rubber centralportion and a peripheral ring of felt.

6. A pneumatic dispatch carrier comprising a body portion and head unitsat the ends thereof, said body portion consisting of a tubular shellhaving a ring at each end thereof, and tongues projecting outwardly fromsaid rings, said head units surrounding said rings and having aperturestherein which receive said tongues and thereby secure the units to therings.

7. A head unit for a pneumatic dispatch carrier comprising a cup havinga boss extending outwardly from the base thereof, and a buffer fixedlysecured to said cup and including a hard rubber portion enclosing saidboss and a peripheral ring of felt.

8. A head unit for a pneumatic dispatch carrier comprising a cupterminating in an outwardly projecting annular flange and having a bossextending outwardly from the base thereof, a buffer fixedly secured tosaid cup and including a hard rubber portion enclosing said boss and aperipheral ring of felt surrounding said cup and spaced from saidflange, and a skirt having a base located in the space between thebuffer ring and the flange.

9. A pneumatic dispatch carrier including a cylindrical body portionproviding a load-carrying compartment and head units at the ends of thecentral portion each said head unit including a skirt which comprises abase, and a flange projecting outwardly therefrom the base beingprovided with grooves at opposite sides of the flange so that the latterwill function equally well no matter which end of the carrier may lead.

10. A pneumatic dispatch carrier including a cylindrical body portionproviding a load-carrying compartment and head units at the ends of thecentral portion, each said head unit including an element whichsurrounds the end of the body portion and a skirt comprising a basewhich surrounds the element and the end of the body portion and a flangeprojecting outwardly from the base which is provided with grooves atopposite sides of the flange so that the latter will function equallywell no matter which end of the carrier may lead.

CHESTER. S. JENNINGS.

